not going to tell me anything?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Don’t feel like it.”
“What do you mean, you don’t feel like it ? I was just attacked in there! You can’t cut me a little slack?” I was screaming at him like a banshee in the middle of the parking lot and he seemed completely unperturbed.
Then it clicked into place. He’d wanted me to scream at him. I stopped, now feeling like an even bigger ass than I had a moment ago. My shoulders sagged and I let out a long sigh.
“Better?” he asked.
“Actually, yeah, a little,” I admitted, embarrassed at how easily he’d manipulated me but grateful for the release. “Was that a lie? The twenty lives?”
There was a flicker of indecision before he answered, “No.”
“And?”
“What?”
“You’re really not going to tell me about them?”
“Nope.”
“Why?”
“That wouldn’t be any fun.” He walked toward the car, opening the trunk and grabbing a T-shirt out and throwing it on.
“But…"
“I know, you were almost raped .”
“I can’t figure out if you’re really a bastard or sometimes you just play one for kicks.”
He smirked but the light in his eyes wasn’t there this time and I had a feeling he was faking it.
“Just so you know, I won’t ask any more questions for now, since you are obviously flustered by this situation, but this is not the end of it.” I tilted my head toward the store we’d left. I didn’t even want to look in that direction. “What about them? We can’t just leave them there in the middle of the store.”
“They won’t be there long. If they do manage to get the police here, the bodies will be gone before they show, energy reabsorbed into the system. Nothing will be left but some dusty residue.”
I nodded, feeling an overwhelming need to go home and scrub my skin in the shower for hours. “I need to get my car at the office. It’s been a long night.”
“I’ll drive you. You’re in shock.”
I shook my head. “No. I’m not. I’ve been in shock enough times in the last several months to know what it feels like. I’m a little off balance but I’ll be fine.” The scariest part was I would be. Close call, but I’d made it out relatively unharmed, physically anyway.
His silence made me look at him and the stern set of his mouth as he stared off into the distance, surveying for anymore threats.
“I would’ve thought that would make you happy. I’m getting tougher, jaded if you will.” I let out a long sigh before I continued. “Less human.”
He shook his head, a profoundly sad look on his face. It wasn’t an emotion I was used to seeing him wear. He leaned his forearms on the car hood in between us. “No. Not even a little.”
“Why? It’s for the best.” How many times had I heard the word transfer like it was a disease of the worst kind since I’d come here?
“I never wanted this life for you.”
Every time he said something like that, so brutally honest and from the gut, it flayed me until I was raw. Maybe that was why we didn’t speak honestly with each other.
“Come on. I’ll drive you.” He straightened and opened his door.
“You don’t need to come. Just give me a lift back to the office where I’m parked.”
“Not tonight.” His voice was soft. He wasn’t just asking me to let him do this, he was asking me to not fight him on it, and it revealed more than anything he’d said to me tonight. He wanted to drive me.
He wasn’t going to budge and he was probably right. I might not have been in shock but I wasn’t great, either. A ride wouldn’t be the worst idea.
I got in the car, letting him drive me away from the place I’d been attacked. That wasn’t how I’d remember it though. I had a frightening feeling that from this point on, I’d remember it as the place I’d lost yet another chunk of my humanity. I just wished I knew how many pieces you could lose before you had none left.
Chapter Ten
We didn’t speak as we drove.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Don’t feel like it.”
“What do you mean, you don’t feel like it ? I was just attacked in there! You can’t cut me a little slack?” I was screaming at him like a banshee in the middle of the parking lot and he seemed completely unperturbed.
Then it clicked into place. He’d wanted me to scream at him. I stopped, now feeling like an even bigger ass than I had a moment ago. My shoulders sagged and I let out a long sigh.
“Better?” he asked.
“Actually, yeah, a little,” I admitted, embarrassed at how easily he’d manipulated me but grateful for the release. “Was that a lie? The twenty lives?”
There was a flicker of indecision before he answered, “No.”
“And?”
“What?”
“You’re really not going to tell me about them?”
“Nope.”
“Why?”
“That wouldn’t be any fun.” He walked toward the car, opening the trunk and grabbing a T-shirt out and throwing it on.
“But…"
“I know, you were almost raped .”
“I can’t figure out if you’re really a bastard or sometimes you just play one for kicks.”
He smirked but the light in his eyes wasn’t there this time and I had a feeling he was faking it.
“Just so you know, I won’t ask any more questions for now, since you are obviously flustered by this situation, but this is not the end of it.” I tilted my head toward the store we’d left. I didn’t even want to look in that direction. “What about them? We can’t just leave them there in the middle of the store.”
“They won’t be there long. If they do manage to get the police here, the bodies will be gone before they show, energy reabsorbed into the system. Nothing will be left but some dusty residue.”
I nodded, feeling an overwhelming need to go home and scrub my skin in the shower for hours. “I need to get my car at the office. It’s been a long night.”
“I’ll drive you. You’re in shock.”
I shook my head. “No. I’m not. I’ve been in shock enough times in the last several months to know what it feels like. I’m a little off balance but I’ll be fine.” The scariest part was I would be. Close call, but I’d made it out relatively unharmed, physically anyway.
His silence made me look at him and the stern set of his mouth as he stared off into the distance, surveying for anymore threats.
“I would’ve thought that would make you happy. I’m getting tougher, jaded if you will.” I let out a long sigh before I continued. “Less human.”
He shook his head, a profoundly sad look on his face. It wasn’t an emotion I was used to seeing him wear. He leaned his forearms on the car hood in between us. “No. Not even a little.”
“Why? It’s for the best.” How many times had I heard the word transfer like it was a disease of the worst kind since I’d come here?
“I never wanted this life for you.”
Every time he said something like that, so brutally honest and from the gut, it flayed me until I was raw. Maybe that was why we didn’t speak honestly with each other.
“Come on. I’ll drive you.” He straightened and opened his door.
“You don’t need to come. Just give me a lift back to the office where I’m parked.”
“Not tonight.” His voice was soft. He wasn’t just asking me to let him do this, he was asking me to not fight him on it, and it revealed more than anything he’d said to me tonight. He wanted to drive me.
He wasn’t going to budge and he was probably right. I might not have been in shock but I wasn’t great, either. A ride wouldn’t be the worst idea.
I got in the car, letting him drive me away from the place I’d been attacked. That wasn’t how I’d remember it though. I had a frightening feeling that from this point on, I’d remember it as the place I’d lost yet another chunk of my humanity. I just wished I knew how many pieces you could lose before you had none left.
Chapter Ten
We didn’t speak as we drove.
Similar Books
